


I Think I Do

by writermouse



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Acceptance, Blood, Cutting, First Aid, Getting Together, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Scars, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 02:14:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17778644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writermouse/pseuds/writermouse
Summary: Kokichi gets his feelings hurt and runs off to cut himself, Shuichi finds him.





	I Think I Do

**Author's Note:**

> This is for a Valentine's Fic exchange

“Ugh, if you’re going to keep bugging her, just go away,” Kaito rubbed his temples with one hand, keeping his arm firmly tucked around Maki to prevent her running off in response to Kokichi’s persistent teasing. He didn’t want to be harsh with him but he was running out of patience.

“Nishishi,” Kokichi giggled, hopping up from the table, leaving his plate of food untouched, “Sure thing, Momo-chan! I’m too cool to sit with the Super Squad anyways!” He turned on his heel and dashed away, running out of the dining hall. 

Shuichi wondered if he’d imagined the flicker of hurt in his eyes before he’d covered it with a smile. Kokichi was quite the mystery, after all. Still, this was something he wanted to figure out. 

“It’s okay, Maki Roll, just ignore him,” Kaito sighed, “We want you here with us,” he glanced at his sidekick, “Right, Shuichi?” He’d gotten what he wanted, but it still felt a little bad to tell one of their classmates to leave, even if it was someone who just wanted to cause trouble. 

Shuichi nodded, though a bit absently, “Yes, definitely. We want you here. Uh.. excuse me for a minute though.” He was glad he could count on Kaito to take care of Maki so that he could focus on Kokichi. He wouldn’t want to have to choose who got support.

“Sure thing, sidekick!” Kaito waved, turning his attention back to Maki. In some ways, Kokichi’s needling came in handy, she seemed like she might be open to talking a bit more, especially if they were alone together, though he still wished the little brat would be more considerate. 

Shuichi slipped out of the dining hall and began considering where to look for Kokichi. He could have gone back to his room, but he could also be nearly anywhere else as he didn’t have as defined a preference for where to hang out as many of them. Not to mention the fact that being upset may well change his pattern, if there was one. Shuichi wasn’t sure what he’d say when he found him, so a longer process of looking was almost appreciated. Expressing his concern would likely just make Kokichi laugh at him, and he wasn’t even sure that his suspicion was right, but even if it wasn’t, there was no harm in letting Kokichi know he was cared about. 

He ambled through the hallway, ducking into classrooms and checking around corners for quite a while, eventually arriving at the boy’s bathroom. He stepped lightly inside and gasped- Kokichi was standing at the sink with his shirt off, trying to wash some concerning colored stains out of the sleeves. 

Shuichi’s eyes didn’t know where to focus, he was noticing so many things at once. First of all, Kokichi was alarmingly thin, his ribs were countable at this distance and his spine was a bit too visible He supposed that made sense, Kokichi was quite light and he hadn’t seen him eat all that much. Even more alarming were the blocks of scars on both arms; they were layered over most of each forearm, erratic and overlapping. That didn’t make sense to his initial perception, but it quickly fell more into place. Kokichi was a liar, his presentation was performative, and that was a decent motivating factor for that itself. And most alarming of all, there were several gashes oozing blood into the sink while he tried to rinse the shirt. This was probably what should be addressed, but he wasn’t sure how. 

“Oh, my beloved Shuichi-chan!” Kokichi forced a broad grin, bouncing on the balls of his feet, “What brings you here?” He didn’t actually think he could gaslight Shuichi into not seeing what was literally in front of him, but it seemed the best plan to go with regardless. 

“Do you want some help? I can go get some hydrogen peroxide and alcohol, that’s always taken care of it for me…” Shuichi didn’t fully intend to disclose his own experience with the matter until it was out of his mouth, but he figured it was probably for the best anyway. A point of connection might make the offer to help more palatable.

Kokichi blinked and his expression dropped to one of soft sadness, giving the impression of a mask falling off. “Why would you help me? You guys don’t even want me around…” 

Shuichi smiled sadly and walked over to him, “Kokichi… It’s not like that. We don’t want you bothering Maki and making her upset. But we want you. You’re our friend.” He wasn’t sure this was strictly how Kaito felt, but he knew that it would be once he explained the situation to him.

“Nuh-uh!” Kokichi shook his head, turning off the water. The shirt wasn’t getting any cleaner and now there was someone else here anyway. “For some reason you’re all comfortable with a murderer, which is crazy, but you don’t even wanna play with me.” He knew he’d made this bed, by playing the role of antagonist, but he didn’t realize just how uncomfortable it would be to lie in. “And now you know this,” he held up his arm, “So you probably want even less to do with me. Like how Kaito was about Ryoma.” His lip wobbled without his permission but he didn’t have the energy to cover up his real crying with crocodile tears. 

Shuichi sighed, it seemed he’d certainly been right on the money with his assumption that Kokichi’s feelings were actually hurt by what Kaito said, and that, plus his focus now, was leading him to rethink the way they’d all been treating and thinking of him. “No, Kokichi, I understand. Here- look,” he quickly pushed up his sleeve, revealing the thin, delicate lines that marked his wrist. 

Kokichi reached out and brushed the scars with his fingertips, “I guess you are the type, aren’t you?” He wiped his tears with his other hand. 

Shuichi nodded. He was well aware that he was a mess of anxiety and depression, and it showed pretty obviously. “I didn’t really think you were. But you didn’t want me to think that, did you?” 

Kokichi chewed his thumb, considering his response. Being honest would require multiple levels of acknowledgment. “Well, no, not exactly. I don’t really want anyone to know I’m sad… I did want to hide it from you… But I guess I also wanted you to figure it out. I wanted you to figure me out. You’re my favorite detective, after all.” A ghost of his usual smile crossed his lips. 

Shuichi blushed and nodded. That made perfect sense. Kokichi made perfect sense. “Let’s go get a first aid kit. I want to take care of those cuts.” 

Kokichi giggled, though it lacked some of its usual cheer. He wasn’t really sure what to do with this development, but he was happy to see it through. If Shuichi was as trustworthy as he hoped, this could be the best possible thing to happen. “Wow, you wanna take care of me? Shuichi-chan must love me!”

Shuichi slipped his hand into Kokichi’s and led him back towards his room, “You know, I think I do…”


End file.
